The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia warned about a new Internet fraud scheme related to fake requests to vote for children in contests. This was reported on October 31 in the Telegram channel of the Department for Organizing the Fight against Illegal Use of Information and Communication Technologies.
According to the agency, the attackers have improved the well-known scheme "vote for my daughter in the competition", turning it into a multi-stage scam. Fraudsters copy the account of an acquaintance, create a "support group" on his behalf, publish convincing texts and fill the community with bots that mimic activity.
When a fake group acquires signs of authenticity, real users are invited there, limiting the ability to leave messages. The main goal of the criminals is to force a person to follow a phishing or malicious link.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs noted that the deception is based on the effect of trust and social support, which reduces the vigilance of victims. As a result, fraudsters gain access to personal data, user accounts, or infect devices with malicious software.
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